Deutsche Bank Dismisses Credit Trader Over Client Chats

(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank AG dismissed a trader after finding that he disclosed confidential client information over a group chat, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Tian Zeng, a senior credit-index trader, left the German bank at the end of February following an internal review, brokerage-industry records show. Deutsche Bank concluded that he violated the firm’s policies “with respect to confidentiality and external third-party communications,” according to the records.

The bank reviewed Zeng’s communications upon receiving a complaint about his conduct, according to the filing. A spokesman for Deutsche Bank declined to comment. Zeng didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The largest banks are on alert for any communications that could be dishonest, or as in this case, appear to breach client confidentiality. Increasingly, banks are showing zero tolerance for appearance of impropriety as they seek to avoid any censure for lax controls.

A Deutsche Bank employee who was on the same group chat as Zeng raised concerns that he had shared confidential information with one of the firm’s clients, according to the people with knowledge of the matter. Internal managers determined that he disclosed the identity of a counterparty on a trade to another firm, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.

Zeng’s discussion happened on a platform accessible to others, indicating he may have slipped rather than intentionally relaying confidential trading positions, one of the people said. Some traders are worried that Zeng has been faulted for an error that can easily occur, the person said.

Zeng joined the German lender in 2017 as a senior credit-index trader in New York, according to a statement from the bank at the time. He was part of a wave of additions to beef up the credit-trading unit that included the hiring of Zeng’s supervisor, former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partner Paul Huchro.

Before that, Zeng was at Citadel Securities, where he helped Ken Griffin’s firm make a foray into making markets in credit derivatives. Zeng started out his Wall Street career at Citigroup Inc. in 2010.

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